New Plans to Keep Chronic Wasting Disease from Returning to New York

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is tightening its reign on deer, elk and moose carcasses coming into the state from other areas, like Pennsylvania, which could spread the fatal deer chronic wasting disease.

Officials appeared at the Gateway Welcome Center in Kirkwood near the Pennsylvania border May 16 to ask the public to be more vigilant to prevent the return of the disease to New York.

Residents are reminded not to feed wild deer, to report sick animals, properly dispose of carcasses in approved landfills and to use alternative lures in place of deer urine.

The hunting industry in New York State is big business, bringing in an estimated $1.5 billion every year. A few licensed farms also raise domestic herds that could be threatened by the spread of CWD. Part of the DEC CWD risk minimization plan involves inspections of cervid farms with better sharing of records between environmental and agriculture officials.